BlackRock, Schroders, Natixis reports reveal evolving investment landscape

Alex Sword

Editor

The Financial Services Forum

Three reports from major asset managers have shown how the behaviour of investors is changing.

BlackRock’s new survey of retail investors found that 36% of adults or 19 million people in the UK are now investors, making it the second largest investor market after Germany.

The country has added 3.5 million new investors since 2022, a 21% rise. This has been driven especially by a 32% surge in women investing compared to 14% among men, and a 30% rise amongst 25 to 34-year-olds.

In terms of barriers to investing, the most common was a lack of money to invest, cited by 70% of non-investors. 25% were afraid to lose money.

However, many cited a lack of knowledge and understanding, suggesting a possible opportunity for asset managers. 25% said they didn’t have enough knowledge of what to invest in and 17% said they did not know how to invest, while 15% said they did not know where to get started. 7% were unsure of what the benefits are.

Schroders also recently conducted a survey of institutional investors, finding 70% viewed central bank policy as the top concern for portfolio performance, followed by 68% highlighting high interest rates and 62% a potential economic downturn.

While 51% said they were looking to increase equities allocation, the main area of interest was private markets, with 80% already investing in private markets or planning to do so in the next one to two years.

Fifty-three percent wish to increase their allocations to private equity in the next 12 months, with 45% and 42% respectively wishing to increase allocations to renewable infrastructure equity and private debt.

Meanwhile, the report by Natixis 2024 Global Survey of Financial Advisors also revealed how advisors are reacting to recent trends.

Forty-six percent of respondents said wealth transfer represented an existential threat to their business, as $84 trillion is set to be passed on to future generations over the next 20 years.  The survey found that 43% were increasingly worried they would not retain assets from clients’ spouses and next generation heirs, with 33% saying that they had lost significant assets already in this way.

Demonstrating value beyond allocating assets was the most popular success metric for advisors, with 59% citing it. 52% named establishing relationships with client heirs, while 46% and 43% respectively named assessing risk tolerance and helping clients invest beyond cash.

Advisors expressed some concern over some market trends, with 50% worrying about a tech bubble after the recent AI-driven boon for tech stocks.

BlackRock spoke to 5,040 people in the UK for the survey. Schroders spoke to 2830 respondents across institutions including pension funds, insurance companies, family offices, institutions and advisors, representing $74.5 trillion in assets. Natixis surveyed 2700 financial professionals worldwide.

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